Workers remove material believed to be asbestos from the side of Bombers Restaurant Monday, November 4, 2013 at 2 King Street in Troy, N.Y.
J.S.CARRAS — THE RECORD

TROY >> Asbestos removal has begun at the site of a botched demolition that has brought scrutiny on the city fire chief and may have endangered the health of nearby persons.

On Monday morning, the partial demolition site at 4-10 King St. was cordoned off with red warning tape reading “asbestos.” Behind the barrier, a crew from M. Cristo Construction, who were wearing breathing apparatus and white hazardous materials suits, was raking up debris, and removing material from the side of 2 King St. It is expected to be completed by the end of the week.

For the past three months, the scarred side of a partially demolished building has greeted vehicles passing into Troy over the Green Island Bridge, ever since the state Department of Labor put a halt on the emergency demolition, as an asbestos assessment had not been completed.

There are conflicting stories about the events preceding the building’s demolition — whether it was Michael Cristo, of Cristo Construction; Chief Tom Garrett, or city officials who made the call — but it is known that it was Garrett who took incident control over the project. Under normal circumstances, demolitions must be authorized by City Engineer Russ Reeves, but he was away on vacation at the time. According to Garrett, the need to demolish the building arose after a firefighter noticed the floor of the building had collapsed.

The demolition was authorized as an asbestos project. As such, it was necessary that an asbestos assessment be conducted before demolition began, and that people be kept a minimum of 25 feet from the site, and that the air quality be monitored before and during the demolition. There was no assessment completed immediately prior to the demolition, and the Bombers Burrito Bar franchise next door was still open and serving food when the buildings were coming down.

A little more than a week into the demolition, the state stepped in to a put a halt on the project. The notice was served to Michael Cristo, whose crew was not allowed to remove their equipment from the site. During a hearing in front of the city council’s public safety committee, Garrett said state officials informed him that quality monitoring needed to have been taking place.

“It’s the only thing the labor department said I didn’t do,” said Garrett during the hearing.